Page 47 - Panama City Living July-August 2019

How many cars have you fixed up so far?
I bought a 1982 Z28 Camaro that my dad and I restored. I was 15 at the time and not long after I started driving it, I got a speeding ticket. I had to sell the Nova to pay for the ticket. Lesson learned. After that, I became fascinated with German cars, especially the BMW 3 series. I found one, pushed aside at a local German repair shop in Callaway. I thought it looked cool, and although it needed lots of work, I wasn’t intimidated by that. I brought it home, wrenched on it, and drove it for several years. I loved the Camaro, but it was a real gas guzzler for a 16-year-old on a limited budget, and it did not have air conditioning. The BMW 3 is so much more reliable and comfortable because it does have air conditioning. A five-speed, it starts every time, and is much more fuel efficient. But a Porsche was always the car of my dreams....
And then you found your dream car?
I did ... sort of. You’ve heard of a barn find? This was a total basket case. I found it when I was 16 and in the 10th grade. It belonged to a family friend who had purchased it for his wife in 1989. The gentleman began tearing it apart in 1994 to fix some things. It sat, torn apart, from 1994 until I rescued it in 2010. It was in so many, many pieces, and it had rusted through in a few places. When I got it home, I took a hammer and chisel and chiseled Bondo off, two inches deep in some places. But the price was right; the previous owner simply wanted to get rid of it. I am very grateful that she did!
Tell us about the restoration process.
As part of my research on whether to take on this project, I spoke to Dave Smith at Smith MotorWorks. He is a local expert on all things Porsche and was so helpful. He was candid, suggesting I might want to consider looking for a more intact car. It needed flooring, body panels, quarter panels, window glass, all the interior, and the engine had to be rebuilt. It needed everything! The only thing it didn’t need was the original Targa top. But I couldn’t resist it; that it was a basket case was the challenge. So I hauled it home, mostly in boxes. Many, many boxes. I returned several times to collect all the pieces. I had to wait until I had the funds to begin the project, and it took six months to rebuild, after most of the body work was completed. I did most of the body work and my dad did most of the fiberglass work. We both sprayed it.
"I was 15 at the time and not long after I started driving it, I got a speeding ticket.
I had to sell the Nova to pay for the ticket. Lesson learned. "
HOW WE ROLL
www.PanamaCityLiving.com • July–August 2019 • 47